


Animal Instinct

by PlayingChello



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Blood, Fingering, I swear, It's really just fluff though, Levi goes to live alone in the forest, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Rimming, Shapeshifting, Werewolf, bottom!levi, depictions of animal injury, not really but I had a request, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:53:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3795736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlayingChello/pseuds/PlayingChello
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is sick of people and work and modern society, so he decides to take advantage of his cabin in the woods and live independently.</p>
<p>Things don't go quite as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Animal Instinct

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deathshepherd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathshepherd/gifts).



> Wow, this took me a very long time to write. This was going to be a like 3-5k gift fic to [Surmagore](http://surmagore.tumblr.com) for winning my fic giveaway back at the beginning of March. But their awesome prompt got away from me and next thing I know, this is 15k words and I'm in love. I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing this. And I especially hope Surmagore likes it!
> 
> Please note, there's unprotected sex in this. Don't do that irl. Please use condoms, practice safe sex, all that jazz. Also, don't use this as a veterinary guide. Take injured animals to the vet. They actually know what they're doing.
> 
> Thanks, as always, to [Kaden](http://www.twitter.com/gootbuttheichou) for reading over this for me and giving me the BEST comments throughout.

“I don’t know about this, Levi.”

I narrow my eyes in Erwin’s direction from behind the little table I’ve set up outside the homeless shelter, “I don’t really care what you think, I’m doing this.”

“I’m just worried about you. I don’t want you to end up ‘one with the forest’ because you’ve starved yourself and some animal is feasting on you.”

I roll my eyes and watch a child of no more than about six pick up a teacup with absolute wonder. I can’t help the quirk in my lips as I watch her clutch the teacup, one of my favourites at one time, to her chest as if it is the most precious thing she’s ever held. “You can always come see me, if you’re that worried. But I _am_ doing this. Just look at all these people I’m helping right now. I don’t need all of these things. I know how to grow my own food, I never really saw much point in electronics, I can sew well enough. I’ll take some clothes, and I’ve already got a cabin set up not too far away. I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I guess if all this doesn’t work out, there’s a place for you at mine and Mike’s place and I’ll get you your job back.”

“He _obviously_ won’t be needing that!” Hanji butts in, appearing from seemingly _nowhere_.

Just then, one of the people from the shelter comes up to me, “Excuse me, how much for this blanket?”

I look at him, his hopeful expression and leathery skin from too many hours in the sun, “There’s no cost. Please, take what you need.”

He looks at me with absolute disbelief, and then suspicion. But when he sees I’m not making any attempt at claiming compensation for anything anyone is taking away from my collection of belongings, he clutches the blanket around himself and shuffles away. He still seems nervous and unsure, as is to be expected from someone living on the streets, only surviving with his distrust. But he calms once he’s away from my little stand.

Finally, I turn back to Hanji, “While I appreciate the vote of confidence, where the _fuck_ did you come from?”

“Levi! Language, there are children!” My eyes flick to the young girl still clutching at my teacup. Well, _her_ teacup now. I frown and wait for Hanji to continue, “Can I come taste your first harvest?”

“I’m going to regret this, but I don’t see how I can stop you. You’d probably find me anyway and I’ll need _someone_ with medical knowledge to help me out in case I get hurt seriously.” I square myself and look up seriously at each of them in turn, “You two, and Mike too, are welcome to stop by anytime. As loathe as I am to admit it, I’ll miss your dumb faces so don’t let me forget about you.”

Erwin’s giving me the sad puppy dog look that I, frankly, want nothing to do with and Hanji looks almost _touched_ by my words. I have the urge to walk away before either one of them says something disgusting. I’m about to do just that when another person from the shelter comes up to me.

“Bless you, son. Thank you.”

The man grips at my shirt sleeve with surprising voracity. He’s dirty, not uncommon among the clientele currently browsing my belongings, but he’s got this air about him that hints that maybe he hasn’t been down on his luck like this for as long as some of the others here. His grey eyes peer at me from behind thick, round lenses and his dark hair falls in messy mats around his face, some tied back at his nape. He looks- almost _feral_. But with a civility that is clear he at least grew up with money. And the way his jacket doesn’t yet reek of piss and sweat, I’d guess he’s only been on the streets for a few months, or maybe a year. But what do I know?

And the unadulterated gratitude just about explodes my heart with the way it feels like it’s been put through a vice grip.

“No thanks needed. I won’t be needing this, and you all clearly need it much more than I ever did. Take care.” I have a grumpy face, Erwin’s taken to calling it ‘resting bitch face,’ but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. And seeing these people benefit from my life choices means the world to me.

“I can see why this means so much to you.” I’m sure Erwin’s comment is meant to be more of a muse to himself rather than something I am supposed to hear, but hear it I do.

I turn to him with a deep scowl, “Shut up and help me unload some more things. All of this shit needs to be gone before it gets dark.”

\--

The cabin is a little wooden thing I’ve been sitting on for a few years, though it was only in the last few months that I finally decided what to do with it. It started out as a joke and almost spur of the moment decision. My shit job was getting to me, my life was getting to me, _people_ were getting to me, and I blew up when Erwin asked what was wrong. Went on a tirade on how much I hated modern society, how I thought everyone else could go die in a hole and I’d live out the rest of my existence alone in my cabin in the woods. I quit that day, but I had been more or less resigned to the fact I would need to find a new job that would suck my reason for living, my soul, out through my ears every day.

And then I actually thought about the cabin.

I realised that living alone, separated from the rest of the world, wouldn’t be such a bad thing. And, better yet, it was in the realm of possibility. I know how to live off the land, one of the only things I learned at my uncle’s ‘rehabilitation camps’ he sent me to after I kissed a boy in middle school. He never really was one for open minded thinking. But the camps were set up on farms, some idea that they could work the gay out of us with a side helping of Bible verses shoved down our throats, and I learned well how to care for the animals, how to plant, care for, and harvest crops. Living off the land is a fortunate skill I got from an unfortunate experience and it is the _only_ good thing I can attribute to my uncle.

Anything else I might experience living in the middle of nowhere with no one around I figured I’d be able to figure out. So I started looking into it, what all it took, how people did it, whether or not it was _possible_. I started slow, giving away some of my things to people I knew would want or need them. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago I had thought of handing everything out to the homeless. Once I did think of it, I kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner. They were people who truly needed the help.

And now here I am, with nothing more than a small bag over my shoulder with some clothes, canned food to last me until I can get my own crops, a few basic medical supplies, and the closest thing to adventure I’ve ever felt.

I’d been out to the cabin several times in the last few months, getting furniture and cookware and any other basic needs I could think of stocked up. There is more canned food, tea, and seeds for future harvest in the pantry, a hand crank sewing machine, several lengths of fabric and yarn in a linen closet, iodine to last me years. I had come out yesterday to direct the livestock truck to drop off a meager farm of two sheep, a cow, and several chickens. Erwin’s on the hunt for a good horse for me as well, but for now, I’ll be alright without transportation.

I take in a deep breath of the surrounding forest, the solitude. The only sounds are those of the woodland creatures skittering about and the birds in the trees. There’s no cars, no people, no mechanical whirring from some industrial air conditioning unit. It’s just quite, peaceful.

It’s exactly what I need.

I spend the day mostly just settling in. I put sheets on the bed, set some water from the lake to boil over the fire so I have a fresh supply, do a thorough cleaning. Not that it wasn’t already clean, but it passes the time better than most things and places like this have a way of accumulating dirt. I check on the livestock, making sure they’ve got food and water.

When dusk falls, I light an oil lamp and take up residence on the couch with a cup of tea and some knitting until I’m tired enough to sleep. Winter won’t be too far off and heavy clothes and blankets will be more than welcome.

\--

It takes me around two weeks before I really settle into the routine of my voluntary removed life. Erwin found me a horse after a few days and he’s now best friends with the cow. I don’t even know quite how that happened. I did a complete inventory of my stock and found I have almost twice as much food as I need to last through until next year’s harvest. I’ve made two blankets and several pairs of gloves. Though I have to admit my knitting has improved dramatically.

But even with with all of this, I still find myself bored. I thought I’d be kept busy with maintenance, but the cleaning is minimal with my standards, the livestock don’t require an unseemly amount of care, the place is well cared for and doesn’t require any repairs, and I can only knit so much.

That is, until the grain starts going missing.

It takes me a while to notice at first, I just assumed I was being a little more careless than I had thought or that maybe the horse was getting the lid open. But then I spotted the pawprints.

I don’t really have much with which to make a trap, but the threat of something with paws that huge wasn’t something I could take laying down. It could get the chickens or even the sheep. By the size of its feet, it might even be able to take down the cow or the horse. But with a bit of creative use of yarn, I fashion something that will hopefully at least give the creature pause.

When night falls, I sit on one of my wooden chairs on the porch and watch the ground where I placed the trap. I can’t see much of anything in the dark, but the stars light up the ground a bit.

Sometime past midnight there’s one long, low howl much too close for comfort.

Come morning I find myself cold, sore, and nothing has disturbed the trap. Yet I can still tell the grain had been gotten into again. But the pawprints never go near where I have the yarn so well hidden. It’s smart, not bad.

What’s truly impressive is that whatever creature it is, probably a wolf based on present evidence (although a fucking huge one), hasn’t made even the slightest indication or move on my animals. Not even the chickens which would be fairly easy to get at for something like that. This could change at any time, though. At least fortifying the coop is something to do.

\--

About a week after that, I realise how dangerously low I’m getting on the grain. Trying to seal it more securely hasn’t been effective (surprising, as one would need _thumbs_ to get into it) and it’s still much too heavy to get inside by myself. But I need to do _something_ to keep the creature out of the animals’ food.

Which is why I’m spreading the contents of one of my cans of food over the ground near the grain.

I try to spend the night in the chair again, hoping to catch a glimpse of this thing. But nighttime temperatures have started dropping far too low for a blanket and cold wooden chair to be enough for me to stand, so sometime around one or so I retreat back into the cabin.

In the morning, the grain is untouched and the canned food is mostly gone. Any of it that was touching the dirt, though, remains. Goddamn animal must be picky or something. Well, I can sympathise to some extent.

It becomes part of my routine to put out a bowl of food each night. And after a few nights, I start finding rabbits left behind next to an empty bowl.

\--

In November, Erwin and Hanji visit.

“Levi, how do you survive out here? There isn’t even cell signal!” Hanji complains while holding their cellphone at ridiculous positions to try and get any sort of service.

I sigh at the sight of my two best friends against a backdrop of overcast skies and stand aside to let them into the cabin. “Who could you possibly need to contact in the short time that you’ll be here?” I lead them to the living room before heading toward the kitchen, “Tea?”

Erwin, stupid, goodnatured idiot, smiles, “Yes, please.” He doesn’t even like tea.

Hanji, meanwhile, barely takes a breath before responding to both of my statements, “Yes! And Moblit is running the lab today. Who knows what could happen!”

“I’m sure the lab is safer in his hands than under normal circumstances.”

I don’t think they even realise my comment is a dig at them. Erwin does, though, and gives me a disappointed frown, “Levi, be nice.”

With a ‘tch,’ I return to watching over the water boiling over the cooking flame. After so long alone, two extra people in the place is deafeningly loud, even though they aren’t talking. I notice every little movement, the way the chairs creak as they shift in their seats, Erwin’s little sniffle, the brush of Hanji’s hair as they move their head to look around. Everything feels amplified.

Finally, the water boils and I brew the tea. When I set the pot and cups on the table, they each take a cup and Erwin stares at me for a long time with this sneaky smile like he knows something. “I trust the horse is working out well?”

“He’s got an unhealthy relationship with the cow, but yeah. He’s good. Better company than most people.”

“Levi, can I meet her? Can I milk her?” Hanji butts in, grossly hopeful look in their eyes.

“I don’t care, Hanji. As long as you don’t hurt her.”

Looking positively offended, with a hand to their chest, they gasp, “I would never!”

I turn my characteristic flat expression on them and deadpan, “You test on rats.”

“I have to! They’re the best initial test subjects! We take very good care of them. Would you rather I use people?”

_Yes_. I roll my eyes but don’t press the issue. It wouldn’t do to get into a heated debate over something that neither of us can realistically change. “Let’s go pet the fucking cow then.”

Erwin’s eyes are still on me, I can feel them burning into the back of my head as I lead them out into the pasture area. I have half a mind to round on him and just ask what the fuck is up with him. But he wouldn’t tell me until he’s ready to reveal his brilliance anyway.

As soon as the animals are in sight, Hanji squeals loudly and runs out to them, leaving Erwin and me walking calmly side by side to watch their antics.

“Did you find yourself a dog?”

The question both confuses and startles me and my head whips to him, “Where the fuck did that come from?”

He gestures back toward the pasture gate, where I keep the grain, with a shrug, “There’s a bowl by your grain and pawprints in the dirt. Though I would have expected to have seen it by now…” he trails off in his musings, then looks to me expectantly.

I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that, that he knows a lot more than he lets on. “There’s a wolf or something. It was stealing my grain. If I feed it, it leaves the grain and the animals alone.”

He hums, “Are you sure you have enough food for that? I can bring you more.”

“I’m fine, Erwin,” I assure, waving him off, “I’ve got more than enough stored up and the chickens are being generous with their eggs so far. Whatever it is isn’t eating too much. Plus, it has taken to leaving me rabbits.”

“Sounds to me like you _have_ found yourself a dog,” he laughs.

“Leeeeviiii,” Hanji calls as we near where they’re petting the cow, “Teach me how to milk her? Does she have a name?”

“No.”

The look at me in confusion, no doubt trying to work out which question I had answered no to. Or trying to decide which to address first. Then they look back at the cow, straight at her face, with hands on each of her cheeks. “I’m going to call her… Isabel! What a great name for a cow, don’t you think, Erwin?”

“Absolutely.”

I slap him lightly, “Don’t encourage them.”

“And you! You big beautiful boy,” they say as they turn to the horse, “How does Levi even get on you? You’re much too large for him.”

“Hanji…” Erwin tries to warn. More than used to their making fun of my height, I just smirk.

“Anyway. You shall be called Farlan.”

I frown, “Where do you come up with this shit?”

They ignore me in favour of zooming off toward the sheep pen. Erwin shakes his head with a little laugh before starting off after them.

As dusk falls, we stand on the porch for our goodbyes.

“You should at least have a cooler, Levi. How do you keep things cold?” Leave it to Hanji to be oddly concerned about my lack of cold food.

“I don’t need to and I couldn’t anyway. There’s no electricity out here. When it snows, it won’t be a problem.” After a moment of thought, I continue, “I’m fine, Hanji. I’m alive and surviving. And getting a hell of a workout cleaning up after all these animals. But thank you for caring.”

That seems to appease them well enough because I soon find myself enveloped in a hug as they kiss each of my cheeks. “Bye, Levi. We miss you. Life just isn’t the same without your scowl.”

They get that very scowl in response and it brings a wide smile to their face before they bound off toward Erwin’s car.

Erwin turns to me with a soft smile, “Goodbye, Levi. I’m sure we’ll be by again before you know it.”

“It will be too soon.”

He laughs, “I’m sure.” He turns to go but only makes it a few steps before he turns back to me again, something almost dark in his eyes, “Be careful.” And then he smiles and turns away again before I can respond.

I stay standing there, staring down the drive long after his car disappears in the trees and I can no longer hear it. Goddamn best friend and his goddamn cryptic caring.

Finally, after I realise how dark it’s gotten and a few rain drops start to fall, I go back inside to go to sleep.

\--

By morning, the rain seems to have more or less stayed at bay. The ground is a bit damp, so it must have at least drizzled overnight, but for now the clouds just cast a dreary and foreboding sense over my little corner of the forest. Still, animals need to be fed and I should check to make sure they all have adequate shelter and that everything is secure in case the wind picks up.

It’s cold out, but I’d much rather the animals be comfortable before myself. They’re the reason for my survival out here afterall. And I’m so concentrated on staying warm and finished as fast as I can, that I almost don’t notice the half empty bowl. Since I started putting the bowl out the creature has _never_ left a drop of food by the time I woke up. Something must be wrong.

_Who cares?_ Why do I care about some random menace that’s only eating my food? Even if it does bring me a rabbit every day. I dismiss the thoughts and finish putting out the grain. When I come back to put the bucket away, I see a small spot in the dirt that’s just slightly darker than the damp ground. Upon closer inspection, I see the deep red colour. Blood.

Despite all of my previous denial, I’m sort of worried about the beast. I’ve never seen it, but we have this sort of symbiotic relationship, we work for each other. I’ve grown attached to our little exchange each day, it’s part of my routine. And if there’s one thing I like, it’s routine.

Still, not much I can do, so I rub out the dirt and get my ass inside where it’s dry.

\--

The rain starts falling in sheets sometime in the early afternoon. Even with the fire and a constant stream of hot tea, I’m still wrapped up in a blanket in order to stay warm. Still, I can’t stave of the uncomfortable feeling in my gut that has made it difficult for me to eat all day.

I tried keeping myself busy with cleaning, knitting, minor clothing repairs, anything I could think of, but nothing could keep my mind off the half eaten food and stain of red across the ground. So now I’m just watching the flicker of the fire and returning to the feeling that I should be _doing_ something. But there’s not much I can do in the middle of a rain storm after dark when I don’t even know _what_ it is I’m so worried about.

A high pitched whine shakes me out of my musing. It cuts off suddenly and it is far too close. I sounds almost like it’s right outside my window…

I’m up before I really realise what I’m doing. I barely spare the time to throw on a coat, then I’m jogging toward the place I had heard the whine. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting to find in the pouring rain outside the cabin window, but I don’t think it was the massive lump of fur sprawled on the ground, matted and wet from the rain. It’s very obviously hurt, one leg sticking out at an odd angle.

I don’t really know what to do. It’s not like I have any real training in veterinary medicine. Still, I can at least splint it, maybe help it out some. Try to make it comfortable. It doesn’t take too much thought before I’m bending down and trying to heft the beast up so I can drag it inside. It’s not easy. Working around the cabin has kept me well enough in shape, I’m not unfit by any stretch. Still, this thing must weigh a fuck ton and it’s all dead weight.

Somehow, I crash into the cabin with whatever this thing is. Barely three steps in, I collapse under the weight of it. After difficult maneuvering and a possibly failed attempt at not moving the injured leg, I finally get a good look at the thing.

It’s a wolf. Probably. It’s fucking huge, this deep chocolate brown with long shaggy hair that’s matted and tangled. Goddamn beast needs a good bath and brushing pretty desperately, but that can be dealt with later. Now, I need to get it dry and figure out how to deal with the wound.

I end up having to trim the hair on its upper leg. It’s just too long and in the way for me to work around. Not to mention matted and covered in blood. Once the hair is out of the way, I can see the wound, and the point of bone sticking out from it. After collecting all of the medical supplies I have, I lay them out on the wood floor and try to work out what to do.

The iodine seems like a good first step, disinfect and sterilise the wound. And anything else I’ll need. There’s nothing neat about the way I splash the brown liquid all over the leg and the floor, then over the needle, gauze, and anything else I might use. It makes a mess of the floor and will probably stain the wood, but I can’t seem to find it in myself to care. Something about this wolf seems… special. It keeps me rooted, keeps me making a mess of my floor, keeps me focused on threading a needle and stitching up the gaping hole in its leg.

Setting the bone was both the easiest and hardest part. I have almost no experience in this kind of injury. I’m used to patching up cuts, bruises, disinfecting whipping marks, not setting broken bones. But the bone moves almost easily in the leg. The hard part is aligning it in such a way that I’m satisfied it will heal in some way approaching normal. Even when I do think I’ve gotten it, I’m not confident, but I’m also concerned I’m just making it worse. Still, I splint it with a splinter of firewood and wrap it with a bandage over the stitches.

When I finish dressing the wound, the beast is still unconscious. I fashion a sort of sling out of some extra fabric so if it wakes up it won’t be able to jostle the injury too much. Then I set up a pile of blankets into a bed and place it as carefully as I can on them.

I spend the night on the couch so I can keep an eye on it.

\--

The sound of rain and a throbbing pain in my side wakes me. For a moment, I’m disoriented and confused, wondering why in the hell I’m on the couch. Then I hear deep breathing and it all comes rushing back. The whine, the broken leg, the mess of iodine, the wolf.

There is a massive fucking wolf sleeping five feet away from me.

I nearly fall off the couch when I twist around to look at where I had left it last night. And what I see is definitely the last thing I ever expected.

There’s not a wolf.

There’s a man.

A very _naked_ man. Shivering in the pile of blankets I’d put out with a too big sling around his leg. And as much as I can’t fucking believe what I’m seeing, there is no other possible explanation.

The man is the wolf.

What the _fuck!_ Maybe I just got some mold or something in my tea yesterday and I’m just hallucinating. Very vividly. So vividly that I can see the way his skin breaks out in gooseflesh again as he shivers from a draft. And the thick tail wrapped tightly around the curve of his ass and the wolf ears sticking out from shaggy brown hair (same colour as the wolf’s fur) on his head. Maybe if I just go back to sleep I’ll wake up and it will all have been a dream.

It takes me about five minutes of laying there with my eyes closed before I give up on the idea and just hope looking back will clear whatever fucked up visions my head is creating. When I open my eyes, though, there’s still a naked man laying on my floor, still a mess of iodine staining the entryway, still a pervading smell of wet dog.

There’s a fucking shapeshifter asleep on my floor.

And he’s freezing. I place a blanket over him and stoke the fire before starting a cooking fire to get breakfast started.

I’m almost finished cooking when I hear movement and little whines. I quickly finish up the eggs and put out the flame before going back over to the man. I’m just in time to watch him blink his eyes open to reveal the weirdest green eyes I’ve ever seen. And then they lock with mine. And he freezes.

It must be his wolfish side that makes him bare his teeth and fucking _growl_ at me. He scrambles as well as he can with a broken leg and backs himself into the corner. He has this absolutely wild look about him, terrified and determined at the same time. His whole body is tense and poised to move, whether to strike or run, despite the fresh injury. It’s absolutely magnificent to see.

“Stop your grumbling, I just saved your ass.”

The low growl cuts off with something like confused surprise, almost a yelp.

“So you understand me then?”

He cocks his head and it’s so _puppyish_. His tail sweeps once across the floor behind him and his ears point toward me, fully alert.

“Do you speak, words, anything other than staring at me with your weird ass dog ears?”

His eyes narrow and his ears turn back a bit, “Wolf.” His voice is guttural and low. Animalistic. It’s almost exactly what I’d expect from a wolf/human creature. Almost. There’s something kind of like honey in it. Something that makes me desperately want to hear more.

Still, there’s a more pressing and, frankly, much more _distracting_ issue at hand. I get up a little too abruptly, judging by the way the man shrinks into the corner and whines. I immediately slow and try to show I’m not going near him as I back myself toward the bedroom. When I come back, I’ve got the biggest shirt and pants I could find and I toss them to the floor in front of him, staying back some distance. “Put some clothes on. You’re distracting.”

He makes a weird sound that is somewhere between a growl and a whine, comes out sounding more like some prehistoric beast. After a few moments of looking between the pile of clothes and me, he reaches forward tentatively and snatches up the fabric, then proceeds to make a complete ass of himself trying to put them on. He tries to put his arms through the pants and the shirt on his head.

“Hey, you’re doing it wrong.” He freezes and looks up at me. “Will you let me come over and help?” He doesn’t move for a long time, but finally he relaxes his body very slowly and nods.

I approach slowly, acting every bit that I’m trying to calm a wild animal. Because in some ways, that is exactly what he is. He flinches a few times, but I make it over to him without incident and help him put the shirt on. “The pants will be harder with your leg hurt.”

“Show me.”

I just look at him a moment, evaluating his request. Then I sigh and stand to demonstrate. I hold up the pants I brought for him and mime putting my legs in, explaining how it all works and telling him to mind the splint. Then I give him back the pants.

It takes him a long time to work them up his legs, especially with the splint in the way and the way that they don’t fit very well over it. More than once I have to stifle a chuckle at the way he makes a racket every time he moves the leg wrong.

And then finally I can look at him without distraction, “Now that you’re decent, do you have a name?”

His eyes narrow in suspicion and he stays quiet.

“Name, dumbass. Something to call you. Something other than mangy mutt, preferably.”

That gets his attention, “Eren.”

“Eren,” I taste the name on my tongue, roll its syllables around, listen to the way it sounds from my lips. It’s beautiful. “My name is Levi.”

“Levi.” If I thought saying his name was beautiful, hearing him saying mine is fucking ethereal.

“Now that introductions are out of the way, do you eat eggs? I made food.”

He cocks his head again and sniffs the air. He must like it at least a little because he gravitates toward the kitchen slightly and his eyes light up a bit. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I turn away to go to the kitchen to get the eggs. I don’t even bother bringing him silverware, there’s no way he’d use it anyway.

He rips at the food exactly as I expect, with his face and teeth, viciously and without any care for civility. It’s disgusting.

“Can you even try to eat like a normal person?” His eyes flick up to me before he pauses his eating. He gives me this wide eyed stare that is so innocent, it hardly looks like it could come from something so wild, so feral.

“This is normal.”

“Three words, pretty soon you’ll be stringing actual sentences together.”

My reward for my flippant comments is a dangerous glare before he goes back to attacking his food. He finishes before I’m barely a quarter finished with mine and then proceeds contort himself in some odd ball and _lick_ at my bindings.

“Hey, stop that. You’ll fuck up the wrapping.”

It’s almost creepy, the way he moves. It’s so animalistic. His head snaps toward me, ears up, alert, and trained in my direction. He just stays quiet though.

It strikes me that he’s probably not used to using words. Not accustomed to speaking and explaining himself. He obviously knows how, and learned to speak. But he looks ever more like a wild thing, like he’s been living in the skin of a wolf for most of his life. Like he’s anything but civilised, living purely on instinct.

“How long have you been a wolf?” I’ve never been one to beat around the bush.

Head cock, and again I’m reminded of how _puppyish_ he is.

After a long stretch of silence, I realise that my question might have been a bit unclear.

“I mean how long have you been living as a wolf full time? Pretty sure you aren’t stealing my food and living out here as a person.”

Another long silence of just staring at one another. Finally, as I look away and give up on getting an answer, he speaks, “I don’t know.”

“Well fuck, don’t be so forthcoming, it’s embarrassing.” The way he keeps staring, blinking heavily, tells me he doesn’t get the joke. “What are we talking, months, years, what?”

If he keeps cocking his head so cutely like that, I might be forced to keep him. Or at least to scratch behind those ears of his. I bet they’re soft.

“Years. I don’t remember.”

“Wow, chatty. All the way up to four words.” I pause, finally finished with my breakfast. His ear twitches when I set the plate on the floor behind my chair. Then I ask the big question, “What happened?” I gesture toward his injured leg and he flinches, recoiling into the corner again.

“Tripped.” There is a low growl to the word. A warning.

I didn’t realise he would know how to lie, but apparently he does. Because there is no way he hurt himself that badly by tripping. Especially in what I assume is his home territory. But I heared the warning in the way he answered and choose not to press the issue.

“Whatever. You should probably stay here while you heal. Just… don’t piss on anything.”

And with that, I get up to go about my normal morning routine. When I get to the front door, though, I hear a pathetic whine from behind me, high pitched and long. I turn back around to face him, “What?”

He whines again and I quirk an eyebrow.

“Use your words, I don’t speak dog.”

That earns a brief rumbling growl before he tries to move forward, and stops with a yelp when his leg moves. His head whips to look at it and he bares his teeth. Then he looks back at me, “Where are you going?”

I’m pretty sure my face softens. That’s the intention at least. He’s probably uncomfortable inside, confined and hurt, with a stranger as his only solace. Scared.

“I have other animals to take care of. I can… Help you get to the bed so you’ll be more comfortable.”

His eyes stare into mine and he _cocks his fucking head again_. God damnit. “I want to come.”

I look him up and down carefully, at the splint wrapped around his leg, bulky under the pants I gave him. I take in the lithe way he hold himself, even curled up on the floor in the corner. How he’s poised to escape even with the injury. Finally, I settle on the vibrant green of his eyes, the wild determination there, even under the _terror_.

“You can’t walk.”

And _of course_ he tries to get up again, tries to move, tries to prove me wrong. Yelps when his stupid fucking leg hurts again. “You know, you broke it. It’s going to keep hurting.”

A glare, then more failed attempts at getting up from the floor. More whining and muted yelping.

Finally, I can’t stand it anymore. “Stop! Fine, there’s a wheelbarrow outside. I’ll get you into that and you can come with me.”

Eren’s head shoots up toward me and his ears train on me. And he smiles. God, fuck. This kid has no idea what power he has.

I make my way slowly toward him and kneel down so I can loop an arm under his armpit and wrap around his shoulder. He doesn’t use his other leg like I expect him to, rather uses his arms to push himself up, then brings his leg underneath him. He winces whenever the hurt leg is jostled, but looks like he tries really hard not to make too much noise or show how much it hurts him. Stubborn idiot.

We stand together and he’s tall. Taller than me. Not that that’s too uncommon. By my estimates, he’s probably somewhere around a whole head taller if he were standing straight. It actually makes it easier for me to hold him up. And then I hear him sniff the air.

“You smell good.”

I crane my neck to look up at him with an odd expression, “Um, thanks? You smell like wet dog.” He makes the tiniest sound that I can’t really place what exactly it means before looking forward and trying to walk.

It takes us a long time to make it out the door, and it’s cold and I’m not wearing any kind of coat. But Eren is incredibly warm, leaned up against me as I lead us toward the little shed I keep tools in. The biggest challenge is getting him to sit in the bucket without jostling his leg too much and without toppling the wheelbarrow.

Somehow, we manage. Though I don’t think it’s entirely successful and I make a mental note to check to make sure the break is still in place. Then I wheel his freeloading, injured ass along with me while I go about feeding and cleaning up after the animals. It’s hard, the ground is wet and the tire is low so it’s that much harder to move. But it’s good, nice to have the quiet company.

It’s obvious how much more relaxed he is outside, even contorted strangely in the bucket of my wheelbarrow. He seems freer, smiles come easier, he even laughs when the horse reaches his nose out to him and gives him a sniff before snorting in his face and turning tail.

“I don’t think he likes you much.”

Eren turns his head almost unnaturally and it takes a lot of effort to keep from shuddering, “I smell like a predator. I _am_ a predator.”

“You couldn’t hurt the horse right now if you wanted.”

He snorts a short huff of air through his nose and smirks, “That’s what you think. The horse is smarter.”

I look down at him, “How could you do anything? I had to walk you out here and put you in a _wheelbarrow_.”

An ear twitches and his smirk widens as he leans back to lounge in the bucket, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“If you’re staying in my house while you heal, yes, I would prefer to know all the ways you could potentially kill me.”

I wheel him back toward the house, finished with the chores and quite hungry under the noonday sun that has decided to peak out from the clouds. He’s quiet as I help him out of the bucket and back into the house. As I’m sitting him down in one of the chairs around my meager table, he fucking _licks_ me, right at my temple.

“Ack, disgusting. What the fuck was that for?”

Eren shies away and casts his eyes down in what I suppose is submission, “Thank you. For taking care of me.”

And I just might as well be a puddle on the floor with how quickly I melt at the quiet tenderness in his voice. “I wasn’t going to leave you out to die. Plus, your carcass would stink up the place pretty quick and would be a pain in the ass to clean. You’re just lucky you fell into my property rather than the middle of nowhere.”

He hums a bit, but doesn’t say anything, so I go to the kitchen to make up some lunch.

I’m halfway through heating up some canned soup when I feel a warm, fuzzy mass under my right hand. It almost doesn’t register as strange, but when I look down and see Eren as a wolf (that comes up to my waist, he’s fucking huge), head under my hand, with his ears back and eyes closed and head turned toward me, I realise that he shouldn’t be able to move. He shouldn’t be up and walking. So as I stare down and my hand involuntarily scratches at his (very soft and fluffy, fuck) fur, I ask, “Shouldn’t you be sitting, not walking on a broken leg? And how does this whole transformation thing work?”

Eren’s eyes open and I’m shocked by the gold colour, so different from the vibrant green of his human form. He stares up at me and lets out this long, drawn out whine, as if I’m supposed to understand what he’s trying to tell me. “I told you, I don’t speak dog.”

He nips at my leg and I recoil back, “Hey!” His lip curls oddly and this rumble sounds vibrates through him that _almost_ , if I pretend, sounds like he’s laughing. And then I watch him change.

I’m transfixed, couldn’t move from staring at him if I wanted to. I watch his nose shorten, his fur recede. His toes lengthen into fingers, his legs distort back to a human form. He cringes when his back leg morphs, I can’t imagine the injury feels too great through the change. But the part that really captures my attention and roots me in place is the way his eyes shift. The gold colour darkens and moves toward his pupils. His eyes look like a tempest of storm as green infiltrates the irises from seemingly nowhere, mixing with the gold and taking over until the only remnants of it are in tiny flecks and a deep golden brown just around his pupils.

And then there’s a human (well, mostly) man curled up naked on my kitchen floor.

“What the fuck happened to your clothes?”

And then he cocks his fucking head again and _will you stop that I can’t handle it_. He glances toward the table, “Took them off. Didn’t want to ruin them.”

I shake my head and turn back to the soup, “You shouldn’t strain the break, transforming like that can’t be great for it.”

He whines and I feel him lean into my leg, still human. Still naked. “It’s easier to move as a wolf. Four legs are better than two. How do you do anything if one of your legs hurts?”

I make the mistake of sparing him a glance. He’s fucking adorable. “Generally, I try not to hurt my legs.”

He huffs and nuzzles against my leg, apparently content to sit curled up and clothesless on my floor for the foreseeable future. Doesn’t matter too much to me while I’m cooking so I just ignore him and watch the pot. About a minute later, a thought crosses my mind. “If you’re so capable of moving around as a wolf _and_ of transforming, why in the hell did you have me pushing you around in a wheelbarrow all morning?”

Eren looks up at me with his ears relaxed and tail sweeping languidly behind him, “You offered.”

I give him my most venomous glare, but I’m pretty sure the effect is lost. He transforms again while my attention is on the soup, padding back over the the table and curling up on the floor as I finish it and put it into bowls. This time I insist he uses a spoon and watch in fascination as he transforms again so he can sit in the chair and eat. After watching him struggle for a few moments to get into the chair from where he was laid on the floor, I help him up to sit and throw the shirt at him again.

The meal is relatively quiet and Eren makes an obvious effort to be neater about his eating, taking careful sips at his spoon. He still holds it like he’s trying to gouge the soup out of the bowl rather than eat it, but he’s getting the job done and keeping the food either in his mouth or in the bowl for the most part. It’s at least not offensive, if not particularly practical.

I’m nearly finished before I notice that he’s stopped, about a quarter of his bowl still left. He’s staring at it and swirling his spoon in the remaining liquid, pushing around the chunks of meat.

“What’s wrong with you?”

He flinches and his ears go down in submission, “I wouldn’t try to kill you.”

Now it’s my turn to cock my head in confusion, “What the hell?”

It’s been less than twenty-four hours and I already have an idea of how this guy works. He’s instinctual, a lot of dog-like mannerisms. He’s also fierce, animalistic, and determined. But he still has some puppyish qualities: exuberant, playful, cute. But this is new. This submissive fear, like he’s worried about my reaction.

“You said you’d want to know the ways I could potentially kill you. I won’t. Kill you.”

I soften my expression and quirk a brow, “Awful trusting for an injured wild animal.”

A rumbling growl that almost sounds like… frustration? “The opposite. You’ve… You’ve been taking care of me. You’ve had more than enough chances to hurt me. If you were going to, you would have already.”

I’m pretty sure my jaw drops unattractively. This man- this _wild creature_ \- trusts me. He’s putting his life in my hands. I can see the openness in his eyes. Finally, words make it through my head and to my mouth, “You barely know me.”

And then he smiles. “I know you better than you know me. I don’t give just anyone part of my hunt. I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

I frown around a half-hearted glare, “So you’ve been stalking me then? Should I be worried?” It’s a joke, I hope he sees that.

Apparently he does, because he chuckles lightly, “You moved into my territory. I had to make sure you weren’t a problem.”

He says it around a giggle, with a light tone, but something dark flashes across his eyes. I notice it, but have no idea what it’s for, so I ignore it. “I’d have to be a pretty big dick to try to attack something that, other than stealing my food, wasn’t hurting anything.”

Something changes. A sudden dark cloud of thick tension descends on the room. Eren’s jaw tightens and his eyes glass over and his ears flatten against his wild hair. And for the first time, I am genuinely afraid of what he could do. Even with an injured leg, he could shift and have my throat before I realised what was happening. But he doesn’t.

Then the growling starts. I almost can’t hear it, low and deep, just vibrations in his chest. But it builds until it surrounds me, feels like it’s in my skull, vibrating the bone. All I can do is watch him, frozen with wide eyes, unsure of what set him off.

It takes a long time for the growling to calm down and eventually stop, and it half surprises me that he doesn’t turn. But finally he speaks and it is a dangerous sound, “I’ve known worse people.”

My mouth snaps shut audibly from where it had been hanging slightly open. I don’t have anything to say to that, so I just eat the last few spoonfuls of soup in my bowl and take it to the basin to wash it. At some point, I hear the sound of Eren’s spoon against his bowl and glance over to find him eating again.

The rest of the day is spent lazily for both of us. I set myself up with some tea and a book Erwin had left with me. Eren spends the time in his wolf form, claiming it’s more comfortable, and hops up next to me on the couch. I give him a disapproving glare at his bulk dirtying my furniture, but the moment he looks back with his vividly gold eyes and ears down in submission, whining softly, I cave and return to my book. I can practically see his excited smile, even if his wolf muzzle can’t form it.

He starts off at the other end of the couch, but a few chapters into the book I feel soft fur brush against me and his head work its way under my arm to rest on my thigh. I’m irritated for a fraction of a second before I concede and let my arm rest along him so that my hand sits between his ears and can scratch absently at the fur there. When his eyes slide shut and he leans into the touch a bit, I can feel a small smile tug at my lips while I read.

When it’s dark enough that I have to strain to see the words on the pages, I close the book and lean back with a sigh. My fingers scratch gently into Eren’s fur and he makes a sleepy sound, but otherwise remains as he is. And despite the fact that my ass is a bit achy from sitting in the same position for so long, I can’t bring myself to move and wake him up. He looks peaceful, napping like that. It’s almost like he doesn’t have a broken leg.

His body twitches in his sleep and when he kicks his injured leg he whines and his ears shoot forward. I lift my hand as he picks up his head and looks at me with this alarmed look before relaxing into my side. When he looks to have realised where he is I pat his neck, “Come on, I’ve got to make you up a bed.”

He cocks his head and steps off the couch gingerly, almost like the height of it is no consequence. I set the book aside and go to the bedroom, dragging the blankets from his makeshift bed from the night before along behind me while he pads quietly after me.

The moment he sees me start to arrange the blankets in a pile on the floor, he sits back on his haunches and lets out a very long, high pitched whine. I look back to him, two blankets still over my arm, “What’s your problem?”

His ears go back and he lowers his head, looking as if I had just scolded him, then he whines again. Shorter this time. He stares at me for a long while, expecting me to understand… _something_.

It’s a long staring match and another whine when I try to put down another blanket before I realise what he might be so distressed over.

“You don’t want to sleep on the floor?”

He sits up and his ears go up and he pants happily at me, a clear indication that I’m correct in my guess. I stare at him incredulously, entirely unimpressed by his antics. But that’s a lie. Because it doesn’t take long before I cave to the cute way he cocks his head and looks at me with this innocent look. It’s almost out of place on his very feral, wolfish face.

I sigh heavily and exaggerated, “Fine, you silly mutt. Don’t kick me and you can stay at the foot of the bed.” He pants, tongue rolling out the side of his mouth, and his tail wags faster than I’ve seen it wag before. When I toss the blankets in a little pile at the foot of my bed, he hops up easily, like the broken leg isn’t hindering him at all, and settles into the blankets.

After watching him, I change into sleep clothes and climb into the bed. I’m barely settled before I feel Eren moving again. It doesn’t even surprise me when I feel him lay down nearly on top of me, stretch out along the length of me, and throw his head back so it’s laying across my chest, nose just under my chin.

I almost say something, almost chastise him for invading my personal space with no care for consequences. But he’s warm and soft and honestly not bothering me that much. So I just wrap my arm around him and let the sound of his soft grumbling lull me to sleep.

\--

The next couple months of Eren’s healing are much less obnoxious than I would have guessed. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the way he cocks his head and gives me _actual fucking puppy dog eyes_ when he wants something.

Not at all.

It’s much more likely due to the fact that he does start to help out when he gets more mobile. Which is much faster than I would have thought for such a severe leg break. Even in his human form, he’s walking around fairly normally, no more than a limp, after a few weeks. And with his increased mobillity, he becomes considerably happier. Not that he wasn’t before, but it’s obvious that the extra freedoms of movement let him smile more, joke around, his ears stay up more, tail wags more frequently. He even starts hunting again, bringing back the odd rabbit and maybe even a deer if he’s lucky.

That definitely doesn’t make me smile more.

Eren being around brings some life into my lonely existence in the middle of nowhere. He brightens up the place with his smiles and antics. He curls up against me in wolf form even when I grumble at him because he knows it’s cold and he is _so warm_. He’s like a personal heater in the bed, especially if he gets under the blankets so they can trap his heat. And as he relaxes more and more around me, he gets much more talkative, until it’s a near steady stream of him making a comment or asking a question. All things I would usually find irritating, especially after several days of it (I never could stand being around Hanji for extended periods of time), but with Eren it just seems right.

This kid is ruining me.

And I don’t realise quite _how much_ until one evening in mid January.

As is usual in the evenings, Eren and I are resting on the couch. I have my legs pulled up underneath me and a book open in my right hand while my left hand rests on Eren’s head, between his ears. He’s in his wolf form, resting his head on my thigh. Occasionally I would scratch absently at his fur, behind his ears, but mostly I am focused on my reading as the light dies down. I’m so engrossed in the story that I don’t notice the way Eren is shifting and when he transforms, it isn’t until he speaks that I even notice the change.

“Levi…”

As much as it surprises me to hear him speak, it’s much more disconcerting to hear the tone in his voice. It trails off, a bit nervous with a slight tremor to it that breaks my heart. My hand is still resting on his head, so I pet his hair a bit, hoping to soothe him some. “Hmm?”

He makes a little sound that’s very dogish before sitting up and looking at me, causing my hand to fall to the couch between us. His ears are down and his tail isn’t wagging and he looks… sad. If he didn’t look quite so serious about whatever he’s about to say, it would be comical, the way he’s sitting next to me, stark naked, just watching me.

“I… have to go.”

My head cocks to the side, not really understanding. “If you need to piss, you don’t need to tell me. I thought we’d figured that out months ago.” When he doesn’t even laugh at my awful joke, I know something is up. What little playfulness I had is lost as I fix him in a serious gaze, “What do you mean, Eren?”

He shrinks back, “It’s- Leave. I have to leave.”

“Why?” My heart is pounding and I don’t really know why. All I know is that I’ve gotten used to his presence and I don’t think I want him to leave.

Something flashes across his eyes that I don’t really understand, but it’s gone as quick as it came. “I just… can’t- can’t be here right now.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. Did I do something? Is he sick of me? Did he finally realise that he can’t live contained on a small plot of land when he’s half wolf? Have I fucked everything up?

Why do I care so much?

“I- Eren, _why_?” I can feel my eyes are wide, scared.

And then I see him, _really_ see him, for the first time. He looks distraught, uncomfortable, he’s shifting constantly, hands piled in his lap in some sudden show of modesty. His brow furrows in anger and he growls, “I can’t be here!”

Silence and tension that can be cut with a knife. We just stare at one another. I’m not entirely sure if I’m hurt, or angry, or resigned, or exactly what I’m feeling. And he’s an equally messy collection of emotions, impossible to read with it all swimming around in his eyes at the same time.

A long time passes and we just stare. Eyes locked and emotions running wild. Maybe if I were clearer of mind, it might hit me how dangerous he is in this moment. How feral and poised to attack he is. How easily he could rip into me and end my life in a matter of seconds.

The fact that he _doesn’t_.

The realisation hits me all at once and sobers me, clears my head. Has me practically melting back into the couch with a soft little smile.

“Eren.”

It’s not until it cuts off that I realise he had been growling for the last several minutes. But it halts as if someone just clicks a mute button on him. But he doesn’t respond, just waits for me to continue.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me, but you don’t have to. And you aren’t bound here, you’re free to go.” I pause, watching his reaction. Then, almost as an afterthought, I add, “But I don’t want you to.”

The way his eyes widen is almost comical. Would be comical, if I wasn’t so worried about him leaving. If I didn’t care quite so much.

And that’s the thing, isn’t it? I care. I care a lot more about him than I’ve really cared for anyone. And not in the same kind of way that I care for Hanji or Erwin or my friends. It’s this different level. A sense of protectiveness, almost like he’s a child I feel responsible for. And yet it’s still more than that. A peace when he’s around, a craving for his warmth, the way his smile is so infectious and I just want to make him smile more.

My heart does this stupid, stuttery, flutter thing.

Fuck.

Am I in love?

I’m so bowled over by my sudden _very important_ realisation that I nearly miss Eren’s quiet, rushed response, “It’smatingseason.”

I’m not entirely sure I’ve heard him right. My mouth falls open, then I fix him with an incredulous look and deadpan, “What.”

His cheeks and ears burn red and he looks at me from behind the fringe of his hair, ears down, “M-mating… season?”

My eyes involuntarily flick downward before I catch myself and return to looking at his face, “You’re telling me that you need to go so you can find some lady wolf to dump your spunk in?”

I didn’t think it was possible, but he gets even redder, “Um, not… not exactly.”

One of my eyebrows shoots up in amusement, though deep down I can feel the twinge in my gut that sort of feels like hurt, “Not exactly? What does that mean.”

He curls up, facing away from me, and shoves his face into the cushion of the couch and mutters something into it. I can’t understand most of what he says but I’m pretty sure I hear something that sounds like ‘stupid’ and ‘why me.’

“Eren. You are free to go bump uglies with whatever wolf thing you want, you’re not obligated to stay here.”

Eren sits back up and glares at me with a cute little frown, “That’s not the problem.”

“Then, please, what is?”

I’m not expecting the sudden piercing whine he lets out. It almost hurts my ears. “ _You_ are the problem.”

Silence. Heavy blink. It’s like my mind is working slower than usual, trying to catch up with what he just said. I can’t even come up with a snarky response, too terrified of the implications. “What?” I ask stupidly.

His eyes may as well be dinner plates with how huge they are, clearly he hadn’t intended to say that. But then he shakes his head and heaves a heavy sigh, “I don’t want to go ‘bump uglies’ with some ‘lady wolf’ out in the forest.” He completes his exasperation with my apparent stupidity with air quotes around the borrowed phrases, a habit he must have picked up from me at some point. “I’m not _interested_ in ‘lady wolves.’ My issue isn’t that I want to go out and find someone to fuck. My _problem_ is that I _don’t_ want to go out and find someone to fuck.”

He pauses and I stare at him as if he’s from another world. Which, in retrospect, he is. But I’m still failing to see the point here. “So you don’t want to leave, but you want to leave? I’m sorry, Eren, you aren’t making any sense.”

Eren’s hands go up and he throws them over his head and he lets out a long groan. My eyes dart down again, to his naked self, and suddenly what he’s saying is starting to click just a little bit. “I _need_ to leave because if I stay here any longer I’m not going to be able to hold back because you smell fucking _incredible_ and I have all of these stupid fucking-”

I can’t even let him finish. He’s going to make a fool of himself. But my hand in his hair and my lips on his does an effective job of stopping him. At first he’s unresponsive, and I’m worried I’ve made a terrible mistake, so I start to pull away. But I can’t even pull my lips from his before he has me pushed down and pinned to the couch and his tongue is licking at the seam of my lips, pushing them open. He nips his teeth into my lips, demands dominance, sucks at my tongue, and lavs his anywhere he can reach. It’s not subtle, nothing about him is subtle. It’s fierce, feral, more teeth than anything, but it’s _heavenly_. Absolutely _intoxicating_. His hands are everywhere, scratching down my sides, pulling at my hair, running over me in no gentle manner and it’s so _perfect_.

He’s making all these little whining sounds and it’s sending weird shocks down my spine, through my gut, and straight to my dick. My pants are feeling uncomfortably tight and I’m suddenly very warm, and I feel way too overdressed.

Somehow, I manage to pull back from him enough to breath and pant, “Eren.”

He offers me a low growl before licking at my lips and sitting back on my thighs. I don’t even remember how I ended up laid down with him straddling me, but that’s how we are now. I prop myself up on my elbows and look up at his eyes, pupils blown wide with lust. “As much fun as all this is, we’re not fucking on my couch.”

It’s definitely amusing, watching him look entirely crestfallen, thinking that I mean I don’t want to at all. And it’s even better watching him with one raised eyebrow as his mind turns over what I said and he realises what I meant. I get to watch the way his mouth stretches into a lecherous grin, the way his eyes shine with suggestion, and the way he slinks off of me then pulls me up after him, catching my mouth again. I nearly flinch when I feel his hand kneed my ass. “Then let’s take this elsewhere.”

“You’re a cocky little thing, aren’t you?” The comment holds more truth than intended when I feel him press into me and he’s hard against my hip.

He nips at my ear, “Who’re you calling little?”

And for the first time since I met him, I’m the one that growls. It’s low and comes from deep in my chest and I punctuate it with a bruising kiss and my fingers tangled in his hair. His hips rock into me a few times, and from the way he whines into me it’s more or less involuntary. He’s holding back and it’s very clearly difficult for him.

Somehow, we stumble into my bedroom, never allowing the air to get between us. Harder still is keeping him back enough to peel off the layers of clothes I’m wearing, but I’m drawn right back to him, where it’s warm and he’s moving his hands over me, exploring my newly revealed skin. His nails scratch down my back, then fingers press into my hips and run up my front. He’s everywhere and leaves fire behind in his touches, his teeth seek my throat, my collarbone, anywhere he can reach, and make beautiful purple marks bloom across my pale skin.

When the backs of my knees hit the mattress, he pushes me down roughly and crawls over me, and goddamn if it’s not the hottest sight I’ve seen. His eyes glow with a lusty smolder and bore into me with absolutely no guards up. But he’s in control. He has me frozen with his gaze, completely melting beneath him, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You’re beautiful.”

Under other circumstances, I may be embarrassed about letting that slip. But it’s true and it’s _Eren_ and he’s here, over me, and _he wants me_. And it’s worth it with the way he blinks down at me in surprise, tail stilling behind him and lowering enough to brush against my legs before his ears twitch.

Then he collapses onto me and nuzzles his face into my neck. I don’t really have much of a choice but to wind my arms around his waist and pull him into me, kiss his hair. But this little show of affection doesn’t last long, because we’re both hard and leaking and his hips are rocking into me again, and his nuzzling gives way to little nips and licks against my skin.

When his mouth moves down to my nipples and he rolls one of the nubs between his teeth, my nails dig into him and scratch long, slow marks in his back. He pulls back and smiles, “Good?”

“ _Yes_. Fuck, Eren, where did you learn to do all this?”

He shrugs and I’m about to make another comment when he bends over my other nipple and draws a long moan from me as my back arches toward him. I can feel his grin against my skin while his hands move lower and the side of his palm brushes my dick.

Suddenly there are no more illusions. Eren moves enough that he can roll me over and he licks and nips up my spine as his fingers dip between my cheeks, teasing me.

“Hold up there, pup.” I look over my shoulder and catch him suddenly frozen expression, almost angry at my pause. “If _that_ ,” my eyes dart down to focus on his (very large and frankly quite beautiful) cock, “is going in me, we need lube and I need prep.”

The way he cocks his head in confusion is adorably endearing and also a bit terrifying. I sigh and push myself up enough to crawl up to my bedside table. It only takes a moment to root around enough for the bottle I’d hidden there. I hold it up for him, “Lube, short for lubrication. Necessary for these activities because assholes don’t self-lubricate.” I feel like a goddamn sex ed teacher, but at least he’s paying attention, staring at me with intense curiosity. Another sigh, “Ideally, we’d have a condom, but I don’t have any and this is your first time?” He nods slowly, “Then this’ll have to do. Now, prep. I’ll do it this time. Just… watch.”

I squirt out a fair bit of the gel onto my fingers and warm it up while I position myself on my knees, ass up and face pressed into the sheets. I reach back and circle on slick finger around the tight ring of muscle of my entrance and I wish I could see him because his breathing picks up and I’m sure he’s got a beautiful expression. The desire to see his face increases when I press a finger into myself and hear his breath catch. I can only imagine the way his eyes are trained on me, taking in every sight, watching me swallow up my own finger slowly until it’s all the way in. The mental image spurs me on, urges me to move my finger in and out until I’ve relaxed and loosened myself enough for another finger.

I lurch forward with a gasp when I feel something wet join my fingers. Eren’s tongue licks around my fingers and his hands pull my ass cheeks apart. The moment I realise what he’s doing, I push back into him, working my fingers faster, stretching myself open, willing myself to go faster because all I want is _him_. By the time I’ve worked up to three fingers, I’m rocking back into him with some kind of meaningless rhythm and I’m so needy for it.

He pulls back at the same time my hand leaves me and I feel a soft kiss at the base of my spine. My cock is hard and heavy between my legs and I just need him, need to be filled again. I push myself up onto my elbows and look over my shoulder.

And I’m struck by the _need_ in Eren’s eyes, his blown pupils, the way his tongue darts out to lick his lips. “ _Eren_.”

And thank _fuck_ he understands.

I’m barely cognizant enough to toss the bottle of lube back to him. Don’t even look back to make sure he uses it. He must, though, because I hear him pop the cap and it takes a minute before I feel him pressed up against me..

His inexperience is clear in the way he practically slams into me. I groan loudly and try to reach back to him, glaring over my shoulder. “I’m not fragile, but that’s a bit much, pup. Gotta go slow at first.”

Eren cocks his head and his eyes widen when he realises he may have hurt me. I look back down at the sheets, satisfied he won’t move again until I tell him, so I’m surprised when I feel him lean forward over me, covering me and eliminating any space between our bodies. I feel his hot breath at my ear and his tail wraps around my left thigh. “I’m sorry.”

_God_ , he’s going to be the end of me. “It’s alright, kid. Rookie mistake.” I balance myself as best as I can on one arm so I can reach back to ruffle his hair. He makes a short sound of indignance, but before he can complain I speak again, “You can move now. Just… start out slow.”

He licks at the shell of my ear before grinding his hips into me in a slow gyration. His arms wrap around my chest, palms laid flat over me, before he shifts some to support himself then pulls out achingly slowly, just a little, then pushes back in. I’d complain about the pace and that it’s _too_ slow, but it just feels _so good_ and I know he won’t be able to maintain it for long.

True to form, a few minutes later he starts to speed up. He lifts himself off of my back to give himself more leverage, little growls and snarls the whole time. Constant noise.

The sound I make as he rakes his nails down my back is absolutely _obscene_. But I can’t find it in myself to care. I know I’ll be admiring those marks in the mirror later. His pace doubles at my cry, and suddenly it’s brutal. He’s slamming himself into me and I’m matching him thrust for thrust, rutting backwards and practically begging for it.

He’s ruining me in all the best ways. Taking me apart at the seams, driving me higher into ecstasy. Who knew this shapeshifter kid I found broken outside of my cabin would be a _fucking sex god oh my god right there_.

My thoughts stop being coherent for a while when he starts brushing my prostate with every thrust, so perfect. It’s all I can do to listen to the sounds he makes, feel his nails marking me, feel him bend over and suck pretty bruises between my shoulderblades. Revel in the way the bed creaks with our movements.

At some point I think I start begging him to touch me, telling him I’m so close. I can hear in his laboured breathing and keening whines that he must be as well. Somewhere in the midst of it all, his tail moves to wrap around us and brushes against my cock and spasms run through my body. I can feel his smile against my skin and he flicks his tail in such a way that it strokes my cock with this feather light pressure and drives me _insane_.

My release is a complete surprise, made even more so by the fact that I come before Eren does. But it’s immaculate. Warm fluid coats the sheets beneath me and my legs and arms shake and I collapse into the mattress, Eren barely managing to hold me up. He thrusts several more times, hitting my sensitive prostate each time, dragging pitiful mewls from my throat. Then he buries himself impossibly deep in me and I feel like I’m being stretched even more as he _howls_.

He collapses, arm draped over me so he can pull me into his chest and tangle his legs with mine. His tail wraps over us possessively and he smiles against my hair.

Once I’ve calmed down enough that my breath comes easier and I can say something, I try to turn some, and manage only to move my head to the side. “While it’s nice to know you enjoyed yourself, do you _have_ to howl in my ear like that? It was fucking loud. Also, you can pull out any time, you know.”

Eren’s arm tightens around me and his tail moves so it’s laid across my belly, “No.”

I twist, but trapped as I am I don’t get very far, “What do you mean, no?”

“Can’t.”

“Eren…”

“Mine.”

It’s almost enough to have me ready to go again. The word stops me short, catches my breath, tightens my chest. It’s enough to make me relax back into him and hum, nod slightly in agreement. There was never any question for me. I’m far too enamoured with him to ever deny him anything, including myself.

Several moments later I register that he’s _still_ inside of me. I’m about to tell him to pull out again when I realise that something is sort of off. I wrack my brain for anything to explain this and something I’d heard from Hanji some time ago pops into my head. Something about the way wolves mate in the wild. Something called knotting.

“Eren?”

“Hmmm?” He sounds so sleepy and sated and it makes my heart bubble a bit knowing that I’ve done this for him.

“How long is this going to last?”

He makes a vague sound that I take to mean he doesn’t know. And as much as I’d like to get cleaned up and wash away the sticky feeling, I’m enjoying the quiet closeness. Eren’s body molds around mine so perfectly and it’s so warm. I can feel him everywhere and we smell like sex and I could die happy right now.

It’s a long time before Eren finally pulls away, separating us. It leaves me feeling cold and decidedly empty. When I hear Eren’s padding around the room, I’m almost indignant, selfishly thinking he should be here, keeping me warm. There’s a sharp burn in my chest when his footsteps disappear from the room but I’m far too sore and boneless to be able to get up and go after him.

I don’t even get the chance to say something snarky to him when he comes back because he’s holding a damp towel and wearing the most outrageously dopey smile I’ve ever seen. And I might just fall in love a little bit more. He’s so beautiful, standing there. Not much worse for wear after our activities, considering I probably look like I was hit by a truck and then went for a tumble through the forest bramble. The only marks he has are a few shallow scratches on his back I can see when he turns that already look like they’re fading. I make a silent promise to myself to mark him next time.

Will there even be a next time?

“Eren?”

He hums absently, enraptured in his soft movements as he gently wipes at my skin. I reach out to him, hesitate for a moment, then let my hand rest a few inches from his where it’s supporting his weight on the mattress. “What… What does this mean?”

His head swivels around to look at me from over his shoulder, towel stilled on my thigh. He looks so innocent, nothing to indicated how beautifully he’d just completely wrecked me. “What do you mean? It’s obvious. You’re mine now.”

I put up my most disbelieving glare I can muster, but really, I’m ecstatic. “And what if I wanted you to be mine?”

Someday, I should probably try to build up a resistance to the way he cocks his head. That’s never going to happen. He’s so genuinely confused by my statement. It’s fucking adorable. “I already am yours.”

He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. To him, it must be. His world is so much simpler than mine, based so much in instinct and feelings. Not in rational thought and logic.

A thought flashes across my mind from the time Hanji had been talking about wolves.

Wolves mate for life.

I smile, “Alright then, kid. If you’re quite finished pampering the fuck out of me, come here. I’m cold.”

He grins, makes a few more swipes at my skin with the towel, then tosses it aside and crawls up next to me.

I don’t think I’ve ever slept more soundly.

\--

Waking up with Eren curled up into me, my arms around him, is not a new experience. Although, usually he’s not a human. But that’s not what strikes me as odd.

All the books always say that people wake up disoriented and confused, and it takes a while for them to remember things. That doesn’t happen. I remember _vividly_ what happened last night. I flex my back slightly just to feel the bruises and scratches come to life.

But something is still off.

A crash in my kitchen makes my eyes widen and I scramble out of the bed, only a minor consideration for Eren’s sleeping form. I run out, completely forgetting my state of undress, more concerned with fighting off whatever creature is in my kitchen.

Of fucking course Hanji is in my kitchen, making a mess of things. When they turn at the sound of my appearance, they freeze. There’s a long moment of frozen time in which they look me up and down with wide eyes, then it cracks and they fall to the floor in a ball of manic laughter.

“Fuck you, asshole. What you you doing in my house?”

I’m pretty sure they’re incapable of answering me. Fortunately Erwin pops in at that moment and takes in the scene before him with an eyebrow raised in amusement. “We’re making you breakfast. Mike is here, too. Are you alright with us milking Isabel?”

“Isabel?”

Something about this finally stops Hanji’s hiccuping breaths enough for them to chastise me, “Your cow!”

“Of course,” I rub my thumb and index finger into the corner of my eyes, contemplating what I could have possibly done to deserve this. “Milk the damn cow, I don’t care.”

Hanji whoops loudly and jumps up, seemingly having forgotten how funny my nakedness had been minutes before.

“Levi?”

The whole world stops as Eren pokes out of the bedroom, in a similar state of undress, body half visible and his ears nearly hidden in his hair with how flat they’re laying. Fuck, I didn’t think about this.

I don’t even want to turn back to Hanji and Erwin, don’t want to see whatever stupid fucking expressions they’re wearing. I really don’t want to explain to Hanji why there is a person with very obvious _ears and a tail_ coming out of my bedroom.

“Don’t say anything, either of you. Just go milk the cow.”

They do as I say, I can hear their footsteps heading back to the door, listen as they leave. But of course they couldn’t go without saying anything.

“That’s not what I was thinking when I asked if you’d found yourself a dog.”

I wish I had something to throw, because it would be planted between Erwin Smith’s impressive eyebrows.

As it were, I’m naked and without anything nearby, so he manages to slip out of the cabin unharmed. I can hear Hanji’s cackling as they walk away, no doubt to tell Mike what they’ve just witnessed.

Eren and I just stare at one another in silence. We’re both naked, and I can feel the goosepimples raised all over me from the cold. Actually, thinking about it now, we probably do look pretty hilarious from an outside observer. Especially one that’s never seen Eren before.

He speaks first. “Who…?”

I sigh and take the few steps over to him, wrap my arms around him so I can hide my face in his chest. I feel his tail immediately wrap around us, like another arm in our embrace. “My friends. Supposedly. The blonde one is Erwin, the crazy one, Hanji. There’s another stupidly tall one somewhere, apparently. Erwin’s fiance, Mike.” As soon as I said the word ‘friends’ I feel Eren’s body relax, tension I hadn’t even noticed melting from him.

I didn’t even think about the fact that he wouldn’t trust other people.

I’ve grown so accustomed to how implicitly he trusts me, and how alone we’ve been, that the prospect of my friends showing up as they are wont to do didn’t even strike me as something I would need to warn him about. Honestly, I’d more or less forgotten about them. Eren had taken over all of my focus.

And now he’s scared.

“I’m sorry.”

He whines and nuzzles into my hair. We stand like this for several long moments, just holding one another. Then I hear Hanji’s whooping in the distance and reality comes crashing back. “We should probably put some clothes on and entertain. They’re making food, apparently. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or not.”

He sniggers, but before pulling away he squeezes me just a bit harder, then releases me enough so we can walk back to the bedroom together. After finding suitable clothing for the two of us, we join the gathering just outside my pasture.

Hanji sees us coming first. They let out a long sound that I guess is supposed to be a greeting. Eren steps ever so slightly behind me, but otherwise stays walking tall and confident, ears forward and alert, tail held out behind him. When I don’t immediately launch into introductions, Hanji cuts in, “Levi, don’t be rude. Introduce us!”

“Hanji, Erwin, Mike. This is Eren. Hanji, no you may not do experiments or whatever you’re thinking about with that crazy look in your eye. Eren, these are my friends.”

Despite my chastising, Hanji is still bouncy and excited as they hold out a hand for Eren to shake. This is clearly not something he’s been faced with before, because instead of taking the offered hand, he leans down to sniff at it. They only laugh, “Are the ears and tail real?”

I sigh, but Eren only cocks his head in confusion, “Yes…?”

They lean in close, shoving their face into Eren’s. He leans away, toward me and his fingers search absently for mine. When they brush against my hand, I twine my fingers with his and squeeze. I can almost hear the way he relaxes. Our little display goes largely unnoticed as Hanji barrels forward, “I would be fascinated to study you. Why do you have wolf ears? And a tail!”

This is definitely more interaction than he’s had with people since he was very young, considering that I’m nowhere near as… exuberant as Hanji. And I’m sure it’s confusing him and probably overwhelming him as well. “Alright, Hanji, back the fuck off. No one wants twenty questions in their face.”

Hanji does as I ask, but whines and grumbles about it loudly. While they’re distracted, Eren leans in close to me to whisper a ‘thank you’ low in my ear before standing up straight and pulling away from me to stand alone. Independent and confident, and absolutely beautiful.

“I’m sorry for prying, Eren,” Erwin starts, and I don’t even want to know what’s coming next, “but why _do_ you have ears and a tail?”

“Because I’m a wolf.” Beautiful, innocent, and terribly naive.

All three of our guests stare at him with blank, wide eyed faces.

Before anyone can ask after his answer, Mike steps forward and leans down to sniff at Eren’s hair.

“Smells like… dog, Levi, and sex.”

An unfortunately accurate description.

“Ok, we’re done now. Eren’s a wolf, no more questions, no more… sniffing. I’m starving, aren’t you supposed to be making me food or some shit?”

Erwin steps up to put one arm around his fiance's waist and clap his other hand on my shoulder with a hearty laugh, “Levi’s right, let’s earn our stay. And we’ve got an extra mouth to feed.”

“I hate you all.”

\--

Hanji, Erwin, and Mike leave late, long after the sun goes down and we have to light the cabin by candle light. Eren submits to showing off his transformation. Several times, when Hanji continues to ask him to change. They also ask a ridiculous number of questions, only half of which he even manages to be able to answer.

By the time they do leave, Eren seems to be considerably more comfortable around them and starts joking around and messing with them. He even seems to form some weird friendship with Mike, like they have some sort of understanding because of this sniffing thing. They even play some sort of game with each other that involves sniffing different things around the cabin. I’m still not entirely sure what the goal was. But when we finally watch the car leave, he leans his body into mine and slumps with exhaustion.

“Long day?”

He makes a pleased grumble, “Mmm, jus’ tired.”

“Me too, pup. Let’s go to bed.” My arm circles his waist and I start to head toward the bedroom but before I can get too far and can feel his chin nuzzle at my shoulder. Then his head turns and he _bites_ into the junction between my neck and shoulder, igniting fire in my veins and reminding me of every little detail from the previous night.

I’m dead on my feet when he licks at my ear and whispers “Mine.”

We don’t sleep for some time.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback much appreciated.
> 
> I have a [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/playingchello) and [Tumblr](http://playingchello.tumblr.com).


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